Operation Fallen King
Operation Fallen King (also referred to simply as Fallen King or OFK) was the last significant conflict of the Crystali-Terran War and was fought on April 3, 423, at Quantas Prison, on Polarica, Rio Del Carr, Crystal Alliance, between forces of the Terran Imperium and the Crystal Alliance. The operation's aim was for Imperial forces to extract several high-profile POWs from the prison and return them to safety prior to the end of the war. Summary Blah. Background Prisoners Captured During the break-up of the ''Ciltrí''-class frigate Quirinus at the Second Battle of Shaden, several command staff fled the starship in a shuttle. Without a voider, however, the shuttle had nowhere to go, and was captured by Crystali forces only minutes later. Those captured included Admiral Colin Rostali, Lord Alexin Goldstein, Vice Admiral Olivia Grant, and seven members of their staffs. Timing and Political Strategy The Imperium was unwilling to let such prominent members of its military and government remain prisoners of war. Publicly, this was attributed to the government's loyalty to its subjects, but many military and political analysts have suggested that this sentiment was more likely due to a desire to prevent the Crystal Alliance from using the prisoners as leverage during peace negotiations. Imperial forces executed the operation to rescue the prisoners only a day before the Imperium extended an invitation of a truce and peace negotiations to the Alliance. Thus, though members of Crystali leadership were outraged at the attack on Quantas Prison, Crystali forces were unable to retaliate without jeopardizing the potential for peace. At that point, the resources of both nations were beginning to be stretched, but the Alliance was in significantly worse fiscal straights than the Imperium. Continuing the war over a few rescued prisoners, then, would be highly disadvantageous to the Crystal Alliance. Military Planning Operation Fallen King was planned to take place from 1705-1728 hours (CGT), 0308-0331 hours local time, three hours before dawn, on April 3, 423. The action was to take place in the space of twenty-three minutes, with gunships offloading Scarlet Rangers for just long enough to free and retrieve the prisoners. An Imperial Intelligence Agency (IIA) agent already on Polarica would infiltrate the facility and shut down its anti-air batteries and, if possible, its reactor. The agent would then be extracted with the Rangers. Following the neutralization of the prison's air defenses, two gunships would descend on the facility. One platoon would guard the ships while the other would attack the main penitentiary building, free the prisoners, and return to the gunships. Engagement Intelligence Intrusion IIA agent Orson Reisewell arrived at Quantas Prison on the evening of April 2, posing as the lawyer of an inmate with a very complicated legal case. By pre-arranged permission, he was to meet with his client for a maximum of ten hours. This permission gave him access to the prison until 0400, local time. Once within the prison, he met with Gary Bentworth, an inmate who had never seen him before. In exchange for a promise of freedom, however, he agreed to keep Reisewell's secret and played along with the lawyer facade for many hours. Reisewell delayed his operation until the last possible moment, leaving the cell at 0255 and incapacitating his two guards. Leaving the two guards bound under the watch of Bentworth, he successfully made his way to the utilities center of the facility. Reisewell killed the four guards inside with a silenced handgun and proceeded shut off power to the facility's anti-air batteries at 0303. This immediately set off the prison's alarm system, which was impossible to disable without shutting down the reactor. After rigging the utility center's doors with C4 explosives in case anyone tried to enter, Reisewell descended to the underground reactor and eliminated the Crystali personnel, but was unable to shutdown the reactor before his rigged explosive detonated at 0305. With three minutes still remaining before the gunships' arrival, Reisewell abandoned the reactor and made defending the utility center his priority, in order to keep the defensive batteries from going back online. He was successful in holding off the Crystali guards until the Imperial gunships arrived, at which point attention on him lessened severely and he was able to set up a more defensible position. Scarlet Ranger Landing blah. Category:Military Engagements